The NBA world was sent into a frenzy thanks to a former Duke basketball star.
Madison Square Garden delivered another signature moment last night as former Duke basketball guard RJ Barrett rose to the occasion and lifted the New York Knicks (19-20) to a much-needed victory.
Barrett, who struggled for most of the night, took an inbounds pass with 1.5 seconds left, dribbled once, and fired a 3-pointer over ex-Blue Devil Jayson Tatum to bank in an improbable buzzer-beater to complete the 25-point comeback for the Knicks over the Boston Celtics (18-21).
The shot erased the heroics of Tatum, who tied the game for Boston on the previous possession.
Prior to the final shot of the game, RJ Barrett was just 3-of-14 from the field with ten points and missed a chance to push New York’s lead to two possessions after splitting a pair of free throws with 18.8 seconds left.
RJ BARRETT CALLED GAME pic.twitter.com/KOIFmnuvFa
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) January 7, 2022
Jayson Tatum led the Celtics in scoring after he ended his night with 36 points, six rebounds, and nine assists on 12-of-21 shooting from the floor and 6-of-11 from 3-point range.
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Thursday night was Tatum’s second game back in the lineup after missing nearly two weeks due to health and safety protocols.
New York was kept in the game despite its large deficit by 41 points from Evan Fournier, which led all scorers.
Basketball world erupts after buzzer-beater from Duke basketball star
Madison Square Garden exploded in the seconds after RJ Barrett’s buzzer-beater went down:
https://twitter.com/SInow/status/1479516048231698436?s=20
The former Blue Devil became the first New York Knicks player since David Lee in 2006 to hit a game-winning buzzer-beater in The Garden, according to SportInfo.
New York currently sits as the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference, two and a half games behind the Cleveland Cavaliers for the No. 6 seed.
The Knicks will play the Celtics once again on Saturday night in Boston as New York will look to get back to .500 on the season.